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HANDICAPPING INSIGHTS FEBRUARY 5, 2010 by Dick Powell Meydan Racecourse opened last week to great fanfare in Dubai. Seven Thoroughbred races were carded with the usual large fields that has made racing from Dubai very challenging and rewarding for those that choose to follow it. In order to give the spanking new turf course more time to grow, there was no turf racing in week one and all the races were run on the Tapeta Footings' main track. The main track seemed to be a bit slow for opening night but that should change as the meet goes on. Horses were able to win in front, from midpack and from far back while racing inside or outside. In previous years, when Dubai racing was conducted at Nad al Sheba, horses racing on the main track did well when in front and when in the clear on the outside. Because of the kickback that the front runners produced, horses that raced in behind others often lost interest. Riders constantly commented how severe the kickback was and how it determined where they placed their horse. Now, with the Tapeta main track, there is little kickback and riders can sit in behind others while saving ground. We saw a perfect example of this in race 3 last week when international riding superstar Christophe Soumillon was able to go to the front, yield the lead while racing on the rail, and then slip through on the inside in the stretch to win easily. In the past, his horse probably would have lost interest while taking the kickback or Soumillon would have had to take him out in the clear to avoid it. Now, they can ride the way they want to. The two dominant stables each year at the Dubai International Racing Carnival are Godolphin and Mike de Kock. Godolphin usually rides Frankie Dettori first call but with all the runners they have, a lot of business spills over to youngster Ahmad Ajtebi and veteran Ted Durcan. This year, Soumillon is riding first call for the de Kock juggernaut and they have already combined for three wins in the first two days of racing. De Kock's other two winners were ridden by Kevin Shea, who will also get many live mounts from the South African trainer. Many of the races at Meydan are run under handicap conditions and it pays to visit www.emiratesracing.com to see how the horses are rated and how it affects the weight they carry. Pay attention to the conditions of the handicap races. Some are for horses rated between 90 and 105. These are usually for horses that are just below the group stakes level. The next class is for horses rated between 95-110, which sometimes attracts a former group stakes winner. Handicap races for horses rated 100+ often attract major group stakes winners that might be prepping for bigger stakes engagements. Like Woodbine in Canada, Meydan has its turf course on the outside nearest the grandstand with the main track inside of it. One lap around the turf course is 2,400 meters or approximately 1 1/2 miles. Because it is on the outside, there is a backstretch chute that enables races run at 1,800 meters (about 1 1/8 miles) and 2,000 meters (about 1 1/4 miles) to be run around one turn. There were two turf races run on Thursday and two more are scheduled for Friday of this week, but the Carnival will have fewer total turf races run on it this season as the root system matures. It's been no problem since the horses in Dubai almost all train on Tapeta and most are racing over it very effectively. Betting on racing from Meydan is available on nearly all ADW platforms. The pool sizes this year have been very strong so far and the average field size after two days of racing is 12.73. ***** Oaklawn Park announced today that they will increase the purse for the Apple Blossom H. (G1) to $5 million if both 2009 Horse of the Year RACHEL ALEXANDRA (Medaglia d'Oro) and undefeated ZENYATTA (Street Cry [Ire]) run in it. The race will increase to nine furlongs and will be an invitational event. Oaklawn Park owner and president Charles Cella said that both camps have been contacted and are receptive to the idea. Considering the fact that both females have raced at Oaklawn Park in the past and that you would think that Cella has his ducks in a row before making this kind of announcement, it looks like the race that everyone wants to see will actually take place. I've already booked my flight and hotel room.
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